MPA not to avail benefits

PESHAWAR, May 20: An MPA-elect of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf has announced that he will not avail the benefits as member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and serve the people selflessly.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Monday, the MPA Javaid Naseem, who was elected from PK-3, Peshawar, said he was employed at an insurance company, residing in a five marla house and belonged to a middle-class family.

“It is enough for all of us that PTI honoured us with such a prominent position and now it is time that we served the people,” he vowed and added the country was already facing economic crisis and could not sustain any further economic pressure.Mr Naseem also appealed to all the MPs of his party to avoid taking benefits and materialise the commitment of PTI chairman Imran Khan by serving the people in real sense.—Bureau Report

Drug traffickers arrested

LAKKI MARWAT, May 20: The Ghaznikhel police claimed to have arrested two drug traffickers from a hotel in Tajazai and seized narcotics from them.

Acting on a tip-off, a police party raided a hotel and recovered 1,100 grams hashish, 300 grams opium and a double barrel shotgun with nine cartridges,” said an official on Monday. He said that the contraband was stored in the hotel for purpose of sale. He said that police arrested two narcotics’ sellers identified as Karim and Zafar and registered a case against them and their accomplices, including Salim, Karim, Farooq and Farhad.

Meanwhile, police arrested nine proclaimed absconders and 15 suspects during a search operation on Monday.—Correspondent

Postal official’s bail rejected

KARAK, May 20: Additional district and sessions judge Takht-i-Nusrati rejected the pre-arrest bail confirmation plea of a postal employee in the case of missing ballot papers here on Monday.

The police arrested the postmaster of Takhat-i-Nusrati post office Lal Shireen after ADSJ Amjad Zia Siddiqi rejected his bail application. He was charged in a case of missing ballot papers of government servants from the post office.

Former provincial minister Malik Zafar Azam and PML-N candidate for PK-41, Karak-II, had lodged a complaint with the returning officer against the alleged missing of hundreds of ballot papers of the government servants from the post office.—Correspondent

Varsity, SDPI sign MoU

PESHAWAR, May 20: The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and the University of Peshawar (UoP) on Monday signed an MoU for extending cooperation in areas of research and training.

Under the agreement, the two institutes vowed to establish a formal framework for research cooperation with particular focus on environment, climate change, sustainable industrial development, chemicals, economic development, food security, governance, gender, peace and conflict, sustainable livelihood and many others.

The MoU was signed by VC Prof M Rasul Jan, and Dr Abid Qayyum Suleri, executive director of SDPI. The cooperation between two institutes would include research partnerships, collaborative report writing and sharing of data for development of joint research proposals, projects and publications.

The agreement also provides internship opportunities to students of Peshawar University to work with SDPI in multi-disciplinary areas of environment, climate change and sustainable industrial development.—Bureau Report

Women participation in polls

GHALANAI, May 20: Candidates for the national assembly seat in Mohmand Agency failed to deliver on their promise of ensuring maximum participation of women in the electoral process.

But, the agency election commissioner Haroon Shinwari said 7,140 women out of 60,000 registered voters cast their vote, which was a record in the history of Fata.

Mr Shinwari told Dawn on Monday the turnout in NA-36 was 30.8 per cent. He said less than 500 women had cast their vote in the agency in the 2008 general elections.

Sources said percentage of women voters was relatively high in Haleemzai, Ekkaghund, Prang Ghar and Pandilai tehsils. When contacted agency coordinator of Fafen Mehbob Sher said about 2,000 women cast their vote in the agency and the turnout remained about 5 per cent.—Correspondent

Raise in pension demanded

ABBOTTABAD, May 20: President of the All Pakistan Pensioners Associations, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fida Mohammad Durrani, has said they will stage a sit-in outside the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to press for acceptance of their demands.

Addressing a press conference at the press club here on Monday, Mr Durrani demanded granting of documents attestation powers to the retried officers, 33 per cent quota for their families in jobs, increase in family pension up to 100 per cent and special quota for the disabled children of the retired employees. He was accompanied by Syed Noor Ahmed Shah, Hazara division president of the association, Manan Qureshi, divisional general secretary, and others.

Mr Durrani also demanded release of the benevolent fund and group insurance to the employees immediately after their retirement.—Correspondent

Re-polling in NA-46

PESHAWAR, May 20: The supporters of an independent candidate on NA-46, Khyber Agency, Hamidullah Jan Afridi, have asked the Election Commission of Pakistan to arrange the re-election on 21 polling stations of the constituency in Peshawar instead of Khyber under the supervision of army.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Monday, the tribal elders, including Shah Nawaz, Haji Habib Shah, Khan Hasan, Abid Ali, Shahid, Wahid Gul and Rasool Shah, said it would be difficult to maintain law and order in the agency during polling as opponents of Mr Afridi were planning to disrupt the election. “It will be better if re-polling is held in safe places in Peshawar under the supervision of army,” they said and asked the ECP to announce election results already finalised.—Bureau Report

Students block road

TIMERGARA, May 20: Hundreds of students of the Malakand University on Monday held a protest demonstration in front of the main campus against delay in laptops’ distribution among deserving students.

Students of different disciplines came out of their classes and blocked the Chakdara-Ramora road for some time.

The protesting students were demanding immediate distribution of laptops among deserving students. However, the university administration said a student of the law department had got a stay order from a local court against the laptop distribution, which it said, will be done after stay order was vacated.

The protesting students accused the administration and heads of their respective departments of resorting to delaying tactics in distribution of laptops under the ‘Nawy Sahr’ programme of the Higher Education Commission. —Correspondent